Mind over matter is for real when it comes to getting rid of back pain

New research published in Current Biology, a medical journal, shows that challenging yourself mentally may be a much more effective way to fight against back pain than many of the most potent and powerful over-the-counter pain pills when they aren’t able to handle the “heavy lifting” all on their own.

The research study conducted by the experts behind Current Biology had 200 men dealing with chronic back pain try to use over-the-counter drugs to manage and mitigate that pain, and when they weren’t able to notice any real results the researchers then asked the same that to complete challenging memory tasks or word puzzles.

Believe it or not, the men that moved through the word puzzle program and the memory task challenges reported significantly glass back pain after challenging themselves mentally – in this is the first test to prove that “mind over matter” is the real deal when it comes to telling your body how to feel.

Brain scans backup the “mind over matter” approach

We have all heard anecdotal stories about people that have “thought themselves sick” and those that have cured themselves of seemingly incurable diseases just by believing it was possible.

On top of that, it is an accepted medical fact that placebo drugs can be just as impactful as prescription grade painkillers when the patient isn’t aware of the placebo but has instead been convinced that the pills they are taking are even more potent than painkillers themselves.

But the new research that we mentioned above went even further to link the mind and body connection by hooking those same 200 men dealing with chronic back pain to MRI scans as they had them move through the experiments.

The researchers were able to monitor brain activity as well as the release of endorphins (effective painkilling hormones naturally produced by the body that also triggered joy and happiness), and they notice that all of this activity was up across the board compared to when people were utilizing over-the-counter pain pills like Advil all on their own.  Of course, when mind over matter fails and the pain gets really bad, you will need to take prescription painkillers. Many of these are derived from codeine and they mimic the natural endorphins and so change the body’s response to pain by tricking the brain. Codeine phosphate is also combined with paracetamol in a ratio of 30mg of codeine to 500mg paracetamol. This preparation is called cocodamol 30/500 in the UK and is known as Paracetamol Comp in the EU. You can buy this online here.

Though there is still certainly something to be said about the positive benefits that over-the-counter pain pills can offer (and the very real and tangible results prescription grade painkillers are capable of), it’s interesting to seas at one of the best ways to alleviate significant back pain may simply be challenging your mind and putting the chronic pain out of your thoughts at least temporarily.

Kicking back pain to the curb once and for all

Believe it or not, it’s a lot easier to banish back pain from your life forever – you just have to know the right system to go about doing exactly that.

Close to 80% of adults all over the world (according to research published by the North American Spine Society) are going to have to fight with back pain at some point in time, and the same research group reports that one in six Americans are living with chronic back pain every single day of their life.

Better understanding how to destroy the root causes of back pain at the core and then prevent back pain from ruining your life in the future is of the utmost importance.

That’s why we’ve put together this quick bit of inside information!

Get a proper diagnosis from your doctor

The absolute worst thing you could ever do is to try and self-diagnose any of the back pain issues that you were dealing with in the first place.

Too many people simply think that they are going to be able to know what’s going on in their body just because they’ve had it in their entire lives, but when you’re talking about something as complex as the spine – and how your central nervous system runs right through it – you can’t afford any guesswork.

We’re talking about a pretty tricky system here, and the wrong diagnosis is not only going to set you back and force you to contend with a lot more pain than necessary, it’s also going to put you at much greater risk to the when your back even further.

Try all-natural solutions before you go under the knife or grab a pain pill

The majority of folks that are dealing with back pain are going to be able to wash much of it away not by resting their backs as much as possible, but instead by increasing their back and core strength and really working it out.

Obviously, you want to move through this physical therapy training session slowly, steadily, and intelligently – never risking back injury but really working to strengthen your muscles at the same time – but resting your back is going to put you in big trouble.

An acupuncturist, a chiropractor, and even a yoga instructor should be your first visits after speaking with a doctor to see if you’re going to be able to all naturally resolve your problems.

If that all natural stuff doesn’t work, it may be time to go under the knife or take advantage of everything that prescription pain bills have to offer until you’re able to resolve these long-standing issues.

Just know that there’s no reason to live with back pain forever any longer. There are numerous solutions out there for you to take advantage of that let you banish this pain from your life once and for all.